Language

Old Englisc

Old English or Englisc/Anglo-Saxon is the early version of the Englisc spoken today that is middle German, being used for approximately 700 years from the 5th century when the Englisc first landed. Old Englisc varies widely from the language we know today. From the start this German was influenced by different Germanic dialects, including Celtic, with the coming of Christianity, Latin became a very powerful influence, as the church brought reading and writing which was used for government which later adopted a new alphabet as the old Englisc had used a Runic alphabet. Old Englisc was divided into four dialects, each spoken in a different area or Kingdom, by the 9th century the process of unification is well underway, so dialects fell into disuse as the government favoured the use of Wessex Englisc which was the most widely used dialect being called the Winchester standard, which over the centuries to become the English we speak today.